Afghanistan's food imports (% of merchandise imports) was 26.92% in 2019, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 8.62 percentage points from 18.29% in 2009.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 26.92% | 2019 |
| Five years earlier | 9.51% | 2014 |
| Ten years earlier | 18.29% | 2009 |
| Highest | 36.79% | 2017 |
| Lowest | 4.28% | 2012 |
| Average since 2010 | 18.96% | 2010–2019 |
| First recorded | 7.84% | 1962 |
What the numbers say
In 2019, Afghanistan's food imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 7.12 percentage points on 2018 (from 34.03% to 26.92%).
Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1963 to 2018), the average change was +0.91 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.23 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.75 percentage points in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.91 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 62% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 26.92% | 2019 |
| World | 8.88% | 2025 |
| Low income | 17.57% | 2019 |
Closest to Afghanistan in the 2019 ranking
- Libya — 2nd of 2: 21.6%
What this measures
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.
Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 28 values
| Year | Food imports (% of merchandise imports) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 26.92 |
| 2018 | 34.03 |
| 2017 | 36.79 |
| 2016 | 23.56 |
| 2015 | 19.23 |
| 2014 | 9.51 |
| 2013 | 7.55 |
| 2012 | 4.28 |
| 2011 | 14.03 |
| 2010 | 13.69 |
| 2009 |
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies
More private sector & trade data for Afghanistan
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$3.61 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$926 million (2025)
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 12.88% (2023)
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise exports) — 69.93% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$438.77 million (2023)
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) — 69.93% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Afghanistan's food imports (% of merchandise imports)?
- 26.92% in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1962?
- It is up 19.08 percentage points from 7.84% in 1962. The highest value was 36.79% in 2017 and the lowest 4.28% in 2012.
- Is the latest change in food imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Afghanistan?
- In 2019, Afghanistan's food imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 7.12 percentage points on 2018 (from 34.03% to 26.92%). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1963 to 2018), the average change was +0.91 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
- Where does this data come from?
- The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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